Labour unrest building at Kiewit shipyard

Labour unrest is brewing at the Kiewit shipyard in Marystown over work on the Drilling Support Module project. On Monday night, almost 75 per cent of unionized workers voted against an offer to extend the MOU for the project. NTV’s Ross Tilley reports.

40 thoughts on “Labour unrest building at Kiewit shipyard”

I really dont know what is wrong with people , being jelious over a little loa. It is afew extra dollars for people who work away who has to support family . but in saying that I would be just proud enough to have a job that pays a half decent dollar.

It would appear that yet another person here had someone read to them and write down their nugget of intellectual gold. I assume that due to the complete lack of comprehension of basic math and the english language. It is not a camp job. there are no amenities provided, and certainly no endless buffet of 5 star food like at some camp jobs. The loa is $100. If Gerald would like help understanding this concept I’d gladly meet up with him and show him the pay stub. I’m not full of b.s. I know and understand the facts. as far as leaving, I signed up for the project, not the people, the company, the union or the loa. I talked to one worker who’s dad was on the crew who built the hibernia and was proud of the legacy. I want to be able to tell my grandchildren that I was on this crew and built this rig. I only hope that things actually get going in the right direction and get it done and in a couple months I’ll be going home and leave this dark and dreary place. On the other hand if it continues with the quality and b.s. it wouldn’t surprise me if Kiewit drags the unfinished carcass of this rig to the end of the dock, abandons it there and lets it rot well within view of the town, and then provides free space for the welfare office and food bank just so the former employees would have to come see it weekly..

Don’t be thinking I’m bitter, because I’m not. I will be very disappointed if this project fails but I will guarantee it won’t be because of something I’ve done there and I’ll still be going home and off to the next project. When I see the locals in my neck of the woods, don’t be surprised if your received better than I have been received. I came here for the experience. Thanks for that.

Wow! Gerard!
I will not even offer a rebuttal to that as the topic has been beat into the ground and giving it any more credence just gives it any validity of being an actual point of debate.
At this point I sincerely hope Worley Parsons pulls the plug on this project and moves it elsewhere and Kiewit sells the yard, truly, your greed and arrogance deserves it. I would only feel sorry for your children and spouses for having their financial security sabotaged.
You sir have the comprehension equivalent of Mr. Peach trying to explain what the colour 9 smells like, frustratingly incomprehensible and lacking everything resembling simple logic.

It seems that Randy has hit the nail on the head!! In NL most all of the building trade unions pay an LOA between $68 and $84 per day worked. From this money ,the employee is expected to pay rent, food and transportation. So when a company pays you $124 per day and pays all your bills too,I think you are very lucky!!
I can see why the locals are upset. I have been travelling out west for the past 14 years and have never received both!! So as for John, Jake and Ricky stop trying to bullshit the public. It’s no secret what KOS is paying you guys, they are still advertising for more guys. And if working in this province doesn’t suit you then just move on!

If anyone could see the parking lot lasy two nightshifts (overtime nights) ehen they could make a extra 10 dollars a hour above their 1.5 pay. There was 5 vehicles there. And 3 were travellers from outaide the 120km range. So that is why the 14/7 shift needs to happen. The kiewit company would pull the work out not long after the travellers all left. So it was all greed on behalf of the locals over this whole situation. The travellers also are away from their families and lives for 14 days at a time. So dont take the seven days they are home so heavy.

I turned it flat out down. why? Cause it’s nothin for the people of Newfoundland it’s all for the people from away, it’s nothing no good for us. The ther they’re backstabbing the Newfoundlanders and keepin other people happy …………………………….from away.

With all the camps in Alberta that are competing to have employees go there the quality of camp life has become very attractive. New housing units, gyms, entertainment lounges, and world class chefs have created a somewhat competitive market to attract the workers. To compare that to housing only, sorry, but lets all put our big boy pants here. I’ve been told that this last offer was going to be the end of the travelers if it failed. Well the love that most of us have felt has already sealed their opinions and plans. That in turn could very well seal the fate of this project, or at least the completion date, or lack of completion date.
Now for something not mentioned so far. All this talk of equality and yet on o.t. days, barely a local is seen. I would assume that these workers must be fibing to their partners because if I had worked so hard and so long away to be passing up this kind of cash gor 2 days work, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get laid for a couple months

When we go out west we do not get board pay for plus $125..00 a day , workers at Long harbour only get $125.00 a day . they have to pay their own board out of this. Workers here should not put up with this.

Apparently Randy must not have done well in the reading part of his education. It has need very clearly stated that the travelers do not get full loa along with housing. The math is about even. The new mou givesthe locals more money ythan the travelers and I really don’t care. They wanted to screw it to the man an as a result they received a 25% bonus over their agreed upon and negotiated collective agreement and in return all they had to do was to let us come in and do their job for them. Considering this job would never be completed on time without the travelers, and wouldn’t have even been started without the plans to use travelers, and now they get a 25% raise for the privilege of going home to their wives and families, instead of complaining and intentionally sabotaging the job m aybee shake the hand of your local traveler, buy him a beer and say thanks for the raise, thanks for making working at home possible, in general thanks for saving our ass.

Randy! Come on man, please read what has been stated over and over. For Jesus sake get informed before you comment because your opinion is considered worthless if it is not based on facts. We do not get LOA of 125 a day PLUS accommodations! Do I need to spell it out in crayons for you to understand?! The ignorance of the hypocrites around here is f*cking astounding

Sam stop please…it’s embarrassing. This is how it works in the industry everywhere.
John nailed it. Read his comment again.
Treated like peasants? Really?
You should be gratefully.
Remember Stop, Think, Act.

Theyre a buncha ****** whiners. Wherre have they been workin the past fifty years?? Outta province gettin l.o.a same as us. They needa be happy theyre home with there fsmilys every night makin 30 dollars an hour. Greedy *****.

Ok, let me chime in here and just elaborate on what Ted has stated.
He is correct in saying that the company covers housing and transportation plus a LOA.
BUT! He seems to only talk in half truths to try and sway opinion.
There are two LOA options available
1) provided accommodations to travellers plus $100 subsistence.
2) $125 a day subsistence with no accommodations.
If you were to do the math both are comparable if you account the average room for rent equals to $400-$500 a month to rent.
Obviously 1 would be most attractive if we’re afforded the option IMO.
As a traveler I am required to pay for food and transportation in around town (cabs). I’m not saying that this is not generous by any stretch of the imagination. But it is the only factor that brought me to this project.
Now, I ask you this. Is it unreasonable to expect to be transported to and from work site when a company requires over 100 workers to travel from all over Canada, some as far as Vancouver island? If you know anything about the construction industry you know there is always a risk of layoff at any given time. So would you drive from Sask or BC with your vehicle with that sort of chance? It’s not like you can go next door for the next job like Alberta. A risk to take maybe?
It is not in characteristic for companies to provide transportation for a large volume of workers. An example of this would be PCLs job in Vanscoy, Sask. which I unfortunately turned down to accept this job.
Let me finished by stating that I’ve been on this site for about four months and not for one day have I felt comfortable here, we are clearly unwanted and has been quite evident. I’m at a loss to understand this and feel that this minority are doing a great disservice to their fellow people of this province

I can’t help but laugh at the people on here thinking they know what goes on at the site. Unless you work there, don’t assume shit. It has nothing to do with us not wanting the 14&7 crowd there. We wanted a deal that better suited us and them. We’ve been getting screwed around constantly with shifts changing every other week. We just want a good contract that will stick. We were given a new MOU today, and hopefully everyone will agree to it because it is a fail deal for us & the out of province workers.

If there was skilled workers that wanted to work and actually showed up for work all the time the company wouldn’t have to hire out of province. The fact that out of province workers get loa shouldn’t be a problem. You selfish brats don’t know how lucky you are to find work close to home. Unions breed laziness. Stop your bitching and get to work

It is not the LOA that they are complaining about exactly, but in most cases that LOA is used to pay for your living expenses, ie rent or room and board, transportation,etc. The issue is that the LOA is not being used for these purposes, as the company is supplying all lodging, transportation to and from work, and to and from home. That is where the issue arises. As it has be stated by someone already on this thread, the LOA is to compensate for the added expense of keeping up two homes (away and at work), and for transportation to and from the job site and to and from home, but in this case, the company is covering all of that, so therefore, yes they are getting paid more than the local worker for doing the same job, because that LOA is simply extra money in pocket because they are getting everything else paid for by the company.

It’s a funny thing how all the newfies go out west and work and as soon as the company hired guys from another province and pay them loa, there is a labor dispute!!!!! Bunch of greedy people is what it’s all about. Unions are good for nothing better than stirring the pot and going on strike. LOA = live out allowance. So if your at home ever night or not driving the required distance, than you don’t receive it. Cut and dry. Newfies are there own worst enemies.

Couple of things on this in no particular order:
- If Ross Tilly is going to interview anyone then maybe try to pick someone that can actually talk & knows the facts and not this guy (Mr Peach) who seems drunk and incoherent. It’s because of people like this that makes it hard for the rest of us NL’ers to shake the stigmatism of being a “newfie”.
- There complaining about the shift schedule? I wouldn’t know the percentage but I can imagine that a lot of those people working there have been in Alberta working on turnaround projects that have various shift rotations that accommodate the out of province people. Shifts like 20/8, 21/7, and 14/7 just to name a few.
- Now that Newfoundland has some work for the next few years then the same don’t apply down there to accommodate workers from outside of NL? Just remember boys and gals. You all will be back in Alberta soon enough looking for the project that has the best turnaround.
- It’s because of things like this that make it hard to attract continuous projects. That’s why you will see things slack off again when all this is over just like it did after Hibernia.
- When it comes to the LOA. There are plenty of “Locals” down there getting it as well just as they did back when the White Rose was in town. They went outside of the radius to places like Clarenville, Southern HR, Arnolds Cove ect…. and got PO boxes and used it as their address to get the LOA. All the time either living with mom & dad or in their own homes.
- If stupid stuff like this keeps up and grapping attention, then the only work that Kiewit in Marystown will get in the future is the same stuff that they have been getting all along. Which is some slack work that only takes a few weeks to do which will allow the old boys club at the yard continue to be on the 10/42 program.

Lol here out West anyone that lives 100 km from site on alot of the Major jobs gets 100 dollars per day that they work so 10 hr day 100 bucks do the math that is common practice If they want the manpower gotta pay Em Maybe the Locals should get their heads out of the Sand because I am sure that a lot of the guys there have told the Locals that

Newfoundlanders are their own worst enemy on their own soil!!!!! Bunch of winers!!!! I’ve been waiting nine years to work home…..I lasted ten months before I had enough of whining and complaining, I went back west!!! Funny thing is that out west they put their head down and work…..holding up to our reputation! Here at home, any reason for a work stoppage or a strike is adequate to em! I’m very upset to say this as I am a proud Newfie!!!!! But the trades are full of babies looking for something to complain about!!

As far as im aware there are a number of local people that have been trained and put to work because of a local shortage of skilled tradespeople. Therefore the company hires outside the local community,it would make no economic sense otherwise.Also LOA that outside trade workers receive has created a very large economic boom in the local area .I personally take home little to none of the LOA I receive spending only my paycheck in my own community. I’m quite sure there will be a large economic downturn when LOA leaves.just saying

What a joke. The locals are paid exactly the same as the travelers. We are all in the same union under the same contract. The loa is an incentive to compensate managing 2 households and being away from our wives, children, friends, and the hometowns we love. This is no different then the hundreds of newfoundlanders who commute to the oil sands out west for work. If getting loa is so important then put your big boy pants on, kiss your wife, kids, friends, house, hobbies and in general your whole, entire life goodbye and go to the oil fields. Otherwise go say welcome to you union brother who is only here to help you get this project done on schedule so as a company and a town there could be future projects that would bring back your workers from the patch and make our help unrequited. On the other hand, you can also tell the travelers to get out and we will, which means this attempt to breath life back into this town and industry will have failed and you will have reinforced the prospects for your children. No work. No future.

I find it funny how they say out of town workers get $10 an hour more. That money is for a living allowance not an hourly rate. And the fact that almost every local employee there has done the same by going to other provinces and making more then the local workers there. So how is it justified that they are the only community on the planet that gets more money then the workers coming from other provinces there is something wrong with this picture.
GREED and ARROGANCE.

There is no qualified trades people in that area. The management that runs the yard has absoloulty no idea what they are doing. I say bring the men back to Nova Scotia along with the project. Without the assistance from outside workers te project would not be near the point of completion it is

That comment is just BS . Out of town workers get paid the exact same per hour. They get Loa 100 a day same has any where you go if your out of town you .to say we are getting treated has royelty is a joke buddy . U must of inhaled too much welding smoke over the years .
All them years newfoundlanders been working all over cananda , time to return the favor! Sam u a joke ! You want loa go out west

Of course there’s unrest! They are treating men from NS & other out of province workers like royalty & paying them nearly $10 more an hour while local workers who have been there 30+ years are getting much lower pay & treated like peasants! This is the worst time the facility has ever been run. A complete and total shit show. Throw in the fact that you have skilled tradesmen from the area that can’t get a look in down there but they’ll hire & pay LOA to out of province workers!

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